1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (LCD) desktop computer, and more specifically, to a LCD desktop computer with a removable device frame.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional personal computer comprises various components. Typically, each component is separated from another, causing the computer to be heavy and bulky for the user. Therefore, a highly portable liquid crystal display (LCD) desktop computer was introduced. The LCD desktop computer combines a base and a housing. Components such as a motherboard, disk drives, and a power supply are located inside the housing. The LCD desktop computer substitutes an LCD panel for a conventional cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor, so as to efficiently save space occupied by the desktop computer.
As technology progresses, more and more people tend to heavily rely on a computer to handle and store numerous kinds of information. Therefore, a hard disk drive (HDD) of the computer is frequently replaced in order to upgrade the computer when storage space of the computer is no longer enough for the user. However, the HDD of either a conventional desktop computer or an LCD desktop computer is fixed inside the case by screws. The user needs to spend considerable time using a screwdriver to either remove the HDD from the computer or install a new HDD in the computer. In addition, the screws are easily lost and the screw threads may be damaged during the maintenance and the upgrading of the computer, leading to a lengthy amount of maintenance time.
It is therefore a primary objective of the claimed invention to provide a liquid crystal display (LCD) computer with a removable device frame so as to save efforts on maintenance of the computer.
According to the claimed invention, a desktop computer comprises a base, a front case, a display panel, a motherboard, a device frame, and a rear case. The base is employed to support the desktop computer on a desk, and the front case has a bottom pivotally installed on the base. The front case comprises a front panel facing a user, an upper panel horizontally positioned on an upper-rear end of the front panel, and a lower panel horizontally positioned on a lower-rear end of the front panel. The front panel, upper panel, and the lower panel form a recess with an opening facing a rear side of the front panel. The display panel is vertically installed on a front side of the front panel for displaying an image to the user. The motherboard is vertically installed on the rear side of the front panel, positioned between the upper panel and the lower panel, and is electrically connected to the display panel. The motherboard comprises a central processing unit (CPU) and at least a memory module installed on the motherboard for controlling operations of the desktop computer. The device frame, employed to fix a computer peripheral device electrically connected to the motherboard via a cable, comprises two latches respectively installed on an upper side and a lower side of the device frame. The upper panel and the lower panel of the front case also comprise two corresponding latch receiving devices. The two latches are capable of latching with the two latch receiving devices to respectively fix the upper side and the lower side of the device frame on the rear of the upper panel and the lower panel of the front case. The upper side and the lower side of the device frame are in contact with inner sides of the upper panel and the lower panel of the front case to form a supporting frame on the rear side of the front case to support the front case. The rear case is installed on the rear side of the front case to cover the motherboard and the device frame positioned on the rear side of the front case.
It is an advantage of the claimed invention over the prior art that the device frame of the desktop computer provided in the claimed invention utilizes the two latches respectively installed on an upper side and a lower side of the device frame. The latches are used to latch with the two corresponding latch receiving devices on the upper panel and the lower panel of the front case, respectively fixing the upper side and the lower side of the device frame on the rear of the upper panel and the lower panel of the front case. The upper side and the lower side of the device frame are thus in contact with inner sides of the upper panel and the lower panel of the front case to form a supporting frame on the rear side of the front case to support the front case. In addition, the device frame is removable from the rear side of the front case. By pushing the elastic latch on the upper side of the device frame, the user can easily make the upper side of the device frame separate from the upper panel of the front case. Therefore, the efforts and the time spent on either the maintenance or the upgrading of the desktop computer are significantly reduced due to the screwless design of the device frame.
These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, which is illustrated in the multiple figures and drawings.